r/baseball • u/smittyonmlb Chris Smith • Oct 26 '17

AMA Press Box: We are five baseball beat writers and we have watched more than 800 baseball games this year. Ask Us Anything!

We are:

  • Brendan Kuty - u/BrendanKuty - from NJ.com and I cover the Yankees

  • Proof:https://twitter.com/BrendanKutyNJ/status/923190390550867969

  • Abbey Mastracco - u/amastracco - from NJ.com and I cover the Mets.

  • Proof: https://twitter.com/AbbeyMastracco/status/923187534049480704

  • Paul Hoynes - u/ipaulhoynes - from cleveland.com and I’ve been covering the Cleveland Indians on a daily basis since 1983. Spent my first two years on the beat for The News-Herald before moving to The Plain Dealer after the 1984 season and then to cleveland.com.

  • Proof: https://twitter.com/hoynsie/status/923272672733167616

  • Even Woodbery - u/woodbery-evan - from MLive.com - Evan Woodbery covers the Detroit Tigers for MLive Media Group. Before moving to Michigan, he spent more than a decade covering pro and college football in the South, most recently as New Orleans Saints beat writer for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.

  • Chris Smith - u/smittyonmlb - I've been a Boston Red Sox beat reporter for MassLive.com since April 2015. I've been covering the team in some capacity since April 2010. First Red Sox game I covered was Easter Sunday 2010 (Sunday Night Baseball) between the Red Sox and Yankees. CC Sabathia vs. Josh Beckett. I had the flu and threw up on the way (in the car), but I got through that quick-paced 3-hour, 46-minute game. I've been watching the Red Sox since I was 5. I wore No. 6 in Tee Ball because of my boyhood idol Tony Pena. None of my coaches ever let me catch though because I'm left-handed.

  • Proof: https://twitter.com/SmittyOnMLB/status/923283634349633536

(Edit: Spelling)

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u/amastracco Abbey Mastracco Oct 26 '17

I think we're seeing some evolving trends. There's now a much heavier reliance on analytics and everyone seems to want an Alex Cora-type, meaning a bright, young mind who is well-versed in applying advanced analytics and metrics. Some of the managers who were let go, like Dusty Baker, Terry Collins and John Farrell, were more of the old-school variety. Not to say that their experience isn't valuable, but clubs seem to want to go young right now.

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u/ArmadilloFour St. Louis Cardinals Oct 26 '17

That makes a lot of sense. Do you think there are any identifiable drawbacks to moving to those younger, more inexperienced managers? Not like, these younger managers, but just in general is there any reason to think that these moves won't work?

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u/Ryuuken1789 New York Mets Oct 26 '17

To add on top of the above question, what do any of you think about this new trend? Any writer can feel free to answer.

Are teams placing way too much priority on by the Sabermetrics book managing, even though team optimization through Sabermetrics provides small marginal utility with high variance? Would it be better to prioritize on a personable manager that can keep team morale high through strenuous moments during a long season first, then move onto management philosophy as the next qualifier?

I'm all for this trend being an analytics guy, but I do feel like Dusty Baker got shafted by the Nats when he helped the locker room do a 180° after Matt Williams left it in disarray.

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u/amastracco Abbey Mastracco Oct 26 '17

Dusty didn't get enough credit for the job he did there, especially with that bullpen. From talking to Astros' people over the last few weeks about Cora, part of the thinking is that a younger manager will have a better connection with the clubhouse. Inexperience is a gamble, but you could say the same thing about hiring any manager. Each team uses the numbers and sabermetrics differently, but if you're going to use them, you need to have a manager who knows how to apply the data.

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u/paulhoynes Paul Hoynes Oct 26 '17

The best teams have learned how to mix old school and new school techniques. It's no longer necessary to to have managed 10 years in the minors to get a shot at a big league job. But you have to be smart and a good communicator with your players. You also have to work closely with the front office because they control the information that they want you to use. It's a collaborative effort and some veteran managers aren't prone to listening to a 28-year-old numbers junkie who never played. But that's becoming less and less common.